In fleet management, the use of a global positioning system (GPS) to plan travel routes is a common method to reduce fuel costs, optimize labor budget, and improve operational efficiencies. However, even the best-planned routes are not always followed. There are a number of reasons why a driver deviates from a planned optimal route. A driver may re-route to a customer with more urgent needs, to accommodate unexpected construction roadwork and traffic congestion, to avoid a weather condition, and/or to refuel the vehicle. A driver may also reroute to make an unauthorized stop for personal reasons. When a vehicle travels off the planned route, the GPS mounted on the vehicle detects an off-route deviation which prompts the GPS to calculate a restoration route from the vehicle's current position back to either the original optimal route or a new optimal route, and display new navigational information to guide the vehicle thereto. The route deviation detection here is basic, and may only be used as a trigger for the purposes of recalculating travel routes. Other benefits that route deviation data can provide are not yet realized.
Route deviation data obtained by comparing a vehicle's actual travel route to a planned one provides several benefits. First, it improves driver accountability. Although drivers can be honest and trustworthy, operation management may have to deal with occasional “bad apples.” When drivers know their actual routes are being analyzed, they may be more inclined to stick to the planned route, which means more savings on both labor and fuel, and allows for more efficient service for customers. Second, it may be able to identify better routes which can be used to generate optimal routes for future travels. Although GPS technology can quickly create optimized routes for all of the required stops, it may not come with local knowledge. For example, if a driver has routinely made a deviation from a planned route, the driver may likely know of an alternative route that the GPS does not. The driver is perhaps avoiding train tracks, a particularly congested intersection, or an unsafe part of town. Finally, it helps in fleet management. By being up-front about the GPS tracking with the drivers, management and drivers align their expectations of staying on the planned routes. If there is ever a dispute with a driver, management can solve it quickly by referring to the tracking data before the issue escalates. Collected route deviation data may also be used as training material for new drivers, or as a guide to conduct drivers' performance evaluations.
Further, current systems may contain flaws that may limit accurate analyzation of tracked route data. For example, a GPS can be interchangeable with different vehicles, and therefore if a driver shares their vehicle and/or GPS with another driver, it may be difficult for a system administrator to determine the true identity of a driver of a tracked route. In addition, roadways and geographies can sometime mirror in pattern and distance. It may be difficult for legacy systems to verify with satisfactory accuracy that a traveled route is directed to a system generated route.
Thus, there is a need for a navigation tracking system that is capable of detecting and validating tracked route data. The data can be further analyzed to retrieve important information that can be used to improve fleet management and to incorporate feedback into optimal route planning.